Columns

Has it really been 14 years since a power hungry athletic director, with executor’s axe in hand, changed the course of men’s basketball at the University of Georgia?

With the Bulldog program in the process once again of trying to find a new head coach (I assume the powers-that-be are because no word about the so-called search is known) one can’t help but think back to a coach who provided the program with stability, success and leadership not seen since his unjust firing in the early spring of 1995.
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It’s not as easy as some folks think to build a successful high school athletic program.

Oh, there are some who think all it takes is a magician to get the job done. You know, all the coach needs to do is dress in a cape and a top hat and wave a magic wand and presto, an undefeated season appears in a puff of smoke.

Back here in the land of reality, however, things don’t work that way. It takes plenty of good-old fashioned hard work and that’s what you are getting from the players on coach Mike Cavey’s Apalachee High School squad. Already, the 2009 Diamond Wildcats are making inroads this season and don’t be surprised to see even more accomplishments marked off before all is said and done this spring.

AHS earned its initial region win of the season last Friday after pitcher Justin Shultz threw a gem against Cedar Shoals. It was the first time in five years the Wildcats held an opponent scoreless. When you are building a program from the ground up like Cavey is doing, this is no small accomplishment to be sure.
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The news that Winder-Barrow High School boys basketball coach Eli Connell has stepped down after six years directing the Bulldogg program was admittedly a surprise to me.

While I only had the opportunity to work with Connell for one season in a sports writer-coach relationship, I was impressed with how he directed the WBHS program and how he conducted himself on and off the court.
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For most anyone who calls themselves a fan of the gridiron, making a trip to the Super Bowl would have to be considered the ultimate prize.

Ben Corley now knows that feeling as he and a friend took in Super Bowl XLIII recently. The Winder-Barrow High School football coach admitted it was fun “to be a part of the biggest sporting event on earth.”
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Hard times have fallen on the men’s basketball program at the University of Georgia.

While there was some cause for hope after last spring’s miraculous run through the SEC tournament, the disappointing 2008-09 season has cause Dennis Felton to be shown the door. (It should be remembered that Felton’s severance package for failing at his job outweighs what most people get for succeeding at theirs.)
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Wins have been somewhat difficult to come by for the Apalachee High School Lady Wildcats this season.

However, if one looks beyond the record for the 2008-09 campaign, a bright future is on the horizon for a program that is still attempting to establish an identity. Competing at the Class AAAA level, AHS coach Michael Parks is having to go into basketball battle with perhaps one of the youngests teams in Northeast Georgia.
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“This has been everything we thought it would be.”
— WIMO radio play-by-play announcer Scott Pinner during the Apalachee-WBHS boys basketball game Friday night
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If you are any kind of sports fan, you love rivalry games.

That’s why Apalachee High School was the place to be last Friday night. The AHS teams and the Winder-Barrow High School squads met in the first of two scheduled contests this season and the anticipation was as intense as the action on the basketball court.
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Banks County’s boys basketball team have started the season on a strong footing. Before the holiday break, the team was 9-2 overall.

While the Leopards’ success can be attributed to hard work, good coaching and teamwork, the boys have also done something this season that has a profound impact in their daily lives.

Taking a variation off a common practice, the Leopards have dedicated their season in a unique way. The players and coaching staff have each individually dedicated the season to someone that inspired them. The unique part is that to keep a constant reminder, the initials of the dedicatee are written on the player’s shoes.

While some of the players share dedications, there are individual reasons for selecting that person. One particular person some of the players chose was Cody Gowder, who was a close friend to several players. Other dedicatees range from family to friends, but all are someone who inspired the player.
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